10 March 2014

Lorraine Kelly tells how she delivered speech at Dundee University while wrecked on absinthe

Lorraine Kelly has told how she gave one of the biggest speeches of her life – while wrecked on absinthe.

The breakfast TV queen had to give an address to students after being elected rector of Dundee University in 2004.

But she’d been taken round the town on the traditional inaugural pub crawl beforehand – and the students picked her drinks.

Lorraine, 53, recalled in a new book: “Whenever a new rector is installed they are dragged around the city in a coach pulled by the strongest members of the rugby club and are obliged to stop off at various hostelries.

“I didn’t get to choose any of my tipples in the various bars we visited, which is why I found myself downing a pint of heavy, followed by a massive glass of absinthe and then some rather odd cocktails.

“I’m surprised I made it through my inauguration speech.”

The star recalls her boozy day in Lorraine Kelly’s Scotland, where she explores her homeland from Selkirk to St Kilda.

She also admits she can’t remember much about going to Buckingham Palace in 2012 to receive the OBE from the Queen – but this time, there was no alcohol involved.

Lorraine wrote: “I cried through the whole ceremony and, to this day, I have absolutely no idea what the Queen said to me.

“Her Majesty is obviously very used to dealing with overwhelmed subjects. She smiled very kindly as she gently eased me away.”